Red Tide May Make it Here

So far, Charlotte County has escaped the summer without a red tide bloom occurring. That may change son, though, as Mote Marine Laboratory and the state Fish and WIldlife Commission are tracking a huge, but scattered, bloom headed our direction. The algae was 10 miles off Pinellas County’s shore. While the red tide is patchy, it’s 90 miles long, 60 miles wide and moving southeast toward us. The red tide has been detected off the coast of Sarasota County. Tests are set soon for Charlotte Harbor.